Rapid City Public Works

11/04/2026

If you've ever looked at your utility bill and wondered what a "unit" of water is, below is your answer! A typical household uses around 7 units (or a little over 5,000 gallons) of water per month.

Many water systems in the U.S. bill by unit, or by cubic feet, rather than gallons because it simplifies tracking. It’s also more manageable for billing systems compared to gallon numbers with many more digits.

To find out what a unit of water costs in Rapid City, visit: https://www.rcgov.org/departments/public-works/water-division.html and click on "Water Rates" under Utility Rate Information.

11/03/2026

We hope everyone had a spooky and safe Halloween! 👻 Read the post below from the Rapid City Solid Waste Division to find out how to properly dispose of your pumpkins. 🎃

PUMPKINS!!! 🎃👻
What is the BEST way to dispose of them?
✨ Composting them is the most sustainable way!
Did you know that over 1 BILLION 🫣🤯 pounds of pumpkins are thrown away each year?
That's 1 billion pounds of cute, decorated pumpkins.... but that's also a LOT of waste!
Here's what YOU can do in Rapid City 👇
👉 You can take your pumpkins and place them inside of our yard waste containers at the remote sites!
You can also put them in your curbside yard waste container if you have one!
👉 Reach out on different Facebook groups to see if there are any locals that have pigs or chickens that would eat your pumpkins!

10/30/2026

Halloween is coming! One of the only things spookier than ghosts and spiders to us is not knowing how to recycle your favorite Halloween items.
Check out this guide for how to recycle/dispose of them. 🎃👻

For lights, we have a container year round at the Admin Office at the landfill!
We also have our annual light recycling program coming up that you can check out here:
https://www.rapidcityrecycles.org/christmas-light-recycling.html

10/20/2026

Think you have a great chili recipe? Sign up today for our second annual Chili Cookup to support the City Utility Assist fund! Register online at

This will be a fun, family friendly event that brings our community together to help neighbors in need—one bowl at a time. All proceeds go directly to a dedicated account administered by Saint Vincent DePaul to support households facing financial hardship, helping them avoid service shutoffs and g...

10/15/2026

🌶️🔥 BRING THE HEAT. SHARE THE LOVE. MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 🔥🌶️

Think your chili has what it takes to bring home the bragging rights? Or maybe you just love a good bowl of chili for a great cause? Either way, we've got a spot for you!

Join us for the 2nd Annual City Utility Assist Chili Cookoff, where bold flavors, friendly competition, and community spirit come together to help our neighbors!

❤️ Here's the best part: Every dollar raised helps local families struggling to keep essential City services like water, sewer, and garbage connected. And thanks to the Rapid City Council, EVERY DOLLAR DONATED WILL BE MATCHED, up to $10,000! That means your generosity can make TWICE the impact!

🏆 Calling all Chili Chefs! Got a secret family recipe? A little spicy magic? Or just a chili you're convinced is the best in town? We want YOU in the competition!

📅 Tuesday, October 27
⏰ 6:00–7:30 PM
📍 Dahl Arts Center

🌶️ Register to compete: https://forms.rcgov.org/chilicookoff2026

Good Chili. Great People. A Stronger Community.

Come hungry. Bring your best. Help us turn up the heat on community support! ❤️

10/15/2026

Imagine waking up, going to the kitchen to make coffee, turning on the tap, and nothing comes out. 😱 No water also means no coffee, and many other things we need water for in our daily lives - like cooking, drinking, bathing, washing, watering, and the list goes on.

💧 🟰 ☕ 🟰 😃

Fortunately this isn't a situation we have to worry about in Rapid City - thanks to the team of water professionals in the City's Water Division working hard every day to ensure we have a safe and reliable supply of drinking water.

10/09/2026

Rapid City's Stormwater crews were hard at work this week helping with a clean up of the overgrown vegetation along Rapid Creek. Using equipment, like this flail mower and excavator, they ground up brush and branches to enhance visibility of the creek.

Teaming up with the Police Department and other city departments, as well as county & state agencies, the area cleaned up included from I-190 to the fairgrounds.

Thanks to our Stormwater crews and everyone involved for your efforts!

10/02/2026

🤔 Where does Rapid City's drinking water come from?

💧 A lot of our water comes from Rapid Creek and is stored in Pactola and Deerfield Reservoirs.

🚰 Protecting our water supply starts upstream, well before it reaches a treatment plant, and we can’t do it alone.

🫶 Show Rapid Creek some love by taking everyday actions to prevent pollution and manage waste properly:

🌱 Yard and Garden Care
• Fertilizers and pesticides: Use lawn chemicals sparingly and follow label instructions strictly. Avoid applying them right before heavy rain so they do not wash into water bodies.
• Native plants and mulch: Landscape with native plants and use mulch on bare soil or slopes to stop soil erosion and sediment runoff.
• Keep storm drains clear: Sweep up grass clippings, fallen leaves, and debris from driveways and streets so they stay out of storm drains.

🚮 Proper Waste Disposal
• Hazardous household waste: Take old motor oil, paints, batteries, and chemical cleaners to designated community collection sites rather than pouring them down sinks, toilets, or storm drains.
• Medications: Drop off unused or expired pharmaceuticals at local collection programs; never flush them down the toilet.
• Pet waste and litter: Pick up pet waste and bag it, as pet waste carries bacteria and nutrients that wash directly into local waterways during rainstorms.

🗓️ Join a Monthly Rapid Creek Cleanup
• Help pick up litter on the second Saturday of every month. Follow Clean up Rapid Creek for specific locations and start times.

08/07/2026

🚨 Let's talk about lithium batteries! 🚨
These batteries are SO dangerous 😫 For us AND for you!
Please please please don't throw away lithium batteries!! These batteries can overheat easily and it is highly likely that it will get punctured or smashed during the burial process. If these batteries get punctured, they can catch fire or explode.
We want to keep YOU and our employees safe! We don’t want one of these to get punctured/overheat
a) Inside of your garbage can that's next to your garage or house!
b) Inside of a garbage truck
c) Inside of the pit where we have employees driving heavy machinery around
d) Inside of the building that we sort recycled material in
Lithium batteries are found in electronics like cell phones, laptops, tablets, different va**ng devices, e-cigarettes, etc. There will be a warning label on the battery if it’s lithium and cannot be thrown away.
Places that you can take lithium batteries or alkaline batteries (AA, AAA, etc) - please call to see if there is a charge!
✨ Interstate Battery recycles ALL batteries (takes all sizes of lithium batteries - including laptop & motorcycle/kid jeep lithium batteries)
✨ Batteries and Bulbs Plus - They recycle ALL lithium batteries (takes all sizes of lithium batteries - including laptop & motorcycle/kid jeep lithium batteries)
.
We really appreciate if household (alkaline - AA, AAA, etc) batteries are recycled as well, but they aren’t as dangerous as the others.
PLEASE message us or give us a call if you have any questions on how to dispose of something or if you just aren't sure if you should throw it away in your can!

08/07/2026

If you have questions about renewing your City Sewer Water or Trenching license, call us today! (605) 791-5577